Workpiece processing device and workpiece processing method

Abstract

To provide a workpiece processing device and a workpiece processing method capable of suppressing a decrease in throughput due to a correction of an end surface of a flange.SOLUTION: A workpiece processing device includes: a blade automatic replacement device 60 including a sensor 300 that detects a state of an end surface 50C of a flange 50, an end surface correction device 400 that causes a grindstone 402 to contact the end surface 50C of the flange 50 to grind the end surface, and a blade attachment and detachment part 62 that attaches and detaches a blade 22 to and from a spindle 48; and a control part 78 that controls the blade automatic replacement device 60. The control part 78 performs grinding of the end surface by the end surface correction device 400 on the basis of amplitude data indicating the state of the end surface 50C detected by the sensor 300.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a workpiece machining device, and more particularly to a workpiece machining device and method for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer by rotating a blade with a spindle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a dicing machine (see, for example, Patent Document 1) has been known as a machine that cuts a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer using a blade. This dicing machine supports a blade on the end face of a flange provided at the tip of a spindle, and cuts the workpiece by rotating the blade using the spindle and bringing it into contact with the workpiece.

[0003] In a dicing machine, the blade cuts the workpiece while in contact with the end face of the flange. Therefore, if the end face of the flange that comes into contact with the blade is not flat, or if the angle between the axis of the spindle and the end face of the flange is not a right angle, the blade will flutter as it rotates, making it impossible to perform precise machining.

[0004] Therefore, Patent Document 2 discloses a cutting device that performs end face modification by grinding the end face of a flange with a grinding wheel. This cutting device has a detection unit that detects contact between the end face of the flange and the grinding wheel due to relative movement of the flange and the grinding wheel in the Y direction, and a control unit that adjusts the positional relationship between the end face of the flange and the grinding wheel at least in the X and Z directions, and then brings the end face of the flange and the grinding wheel closer to each other in the Y direction, and determines the start position for end face modification in the Y direction when the detection unit detects that the end face of the flange and the grinding wheel have come into contact. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-22936 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-224666 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, with the cutting device disclosed in Patent Document 2, depending on the condition of the flange end face, end face correction may be performed even though it is not necessary, which can cause a problem of reducing the throughput of the workpiece processing device.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and aims to provide a workpiece processing device and a workpiece processing method that can suppress a decrease in throughput that accompanies the correction of the flange end face. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the workpiece processing device of the present invention supports a blade on the end face of a flange provided at the tip of a spindle, and cuts the workpiece by rotating the blade using the spindle and bringing it into contact with the workpiece.The workpiece processing device has a detection means for detecting the condition of the end face of the flange, an end face correction means for grinding the end face by bringing a grinding wheel into contact with the end face of the flange, and a control means for controlling the end face correction means based on the detection result of the detection means.

[0009] In one embodiment of the workpiece processing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the detection means detects the state of at least one of the end face, namely, the angle between the axis of the spindle and the end face and the state of a defect occurring on the end face, and the control means controls the end face correction means based on the state of the end face detected by the detection means.

[0010] In one aspect of the workpiece processing device of the present invention, when the detection means detects an angle as the state of the end face, the control means preferably controls the end face correction means so that the angle becomes a right angle by the grindstone.

[0011] In one aspect of the workpiece machining apparatus of the present invention, when the detection means detects a flaw state as the state of the end face, the control means preferably controls the end face correcting means so as to remove the flaw with a grindstone.

[0012] In one embodiment of the workpiece processing device of the present invention, the end face correction means has a moving means for moving the end face of the flange and the grinding wheel in directions toward and away from each other, and a detection means for detecting contact between the end face and the grinding wheel due to the relative movement of the end face and the grinding wheel caused by the moving means, and it is preferable that the control means controls the moving means by setting the position in the direction when the detection means detects the contact as the end face grinding start position.

[0013] One form of the workpiece processing device of the present invention preferably comprises a wear detection means for detecting the amount of wear on the blade, and a blade attachment / detachment means for attaching and detaching the blade to and from the spindle, and the control means controls the blade attachment / detachment means to detach the blade from the spindle only when the amount of wear exceeds an allowable value, and after the blade attachment / detachment means has detached the blade, controls the detection means to detect the condition of the end face, and if the detection result does not exceed the allowable value, controls the blade attachment / detachment means to attach a new blade to the spindle without grinding the end face, and if the detection result exceeds the allowable value, controls the end face correction means to grind the end face.

[0014] In one embodiment of the workpiece processing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the control means controls the detection means to redetect the condition of the end face after grinding of the end face is performed by the end face correction means, and if the redetected detection result does not exceed the allowable value, controls the blade attachment / detachment means to attach a new blade to the spindle, and if the redetected detection result exceeds the allowable value, controls the spindle to stop cutting processing by the blade.

[0015] In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the workpiece processing method of the present invention involves supporting a blade on the end face of a flange provided at the tip of a spindle, and rotating the blade using the spindle to bring it into contact with the workpiece, thereby cutting the workpiece. The method includes a wear detection step for detecting the amount of wear on the blade, a blade removal step for removing the blade from the spindle only if the amount of wear exceeds an allowable value, an end face condition detection step for detecting the condition of the end face after the blade has been removed, a blade replacement step for attaching a new blade to the spindle without grinding the end face if the detection result in the end face condition detection step does not exceed the allowable value, and an end face correction step for grinding the end face if the detection result in the end face condition detection step exceeds the allowable value.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the workpiece processing method of the present invention, after grinding of the end face is performed in the end face correction process, there is an end face condition redetection process in which the condition of the end face is redetected, and if the redetected detection result exceeds an allowable value, a processing stop process in which cutting processing by the blade is stopped, and if the redetected detection result does not exceed an allowable value, it is preferable to proceed to the blade replacement process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput due to the correction of the flange end surface. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dicing device according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a processing unit of the dicing device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] An explanatory diagram showing the blade mounting structure [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an automatic blade changing device. [Figure 5] Top view of automatic blade changer [Figure 6] A perspective view showing the positional relationship between the sensor and the flange. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a waveform signal output from a sensor. [Figure 8] A perspective view showing the appearance of the end face repair device [Figure 9] Block diagram showing the configuration of the detection unit [Figure 10] Control block diagram for end face correction control by the control unit [Figure 11] Flowchart regarding end face correction control by the control unit [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a modified example of the end face repair device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A dicing apparatus is an example of a workpiece machining apparatus and a workpiece machining method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dicing device 10 according to an embodiment.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the dicing device 10 includes a processing section 12 that cuts a workpiece W such as a semiconductor wafer, a cleaning section 14 that spin-cleans the processed workpiece W, a load port 16 on which a cassette containing a large number of workpieces W is placed, and a transport device 18 that transports the workpiece W.

[0022] In this specification, a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system with three axes (X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis) will be used for explanation. The X-axis shown in Fig. 1 is the horizontal direction and indicates the cutting feed direction of an X-table 20 (see Fig. 2) described later. The Y-axis is a horizontal direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and indicates the index feed direction of a blade 22 described later. The Z-axis is a vertical direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions and indicates the cutting feed direction of the blade 22.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the processing unit 12. As shown in FIG.

[0024] 2, the processing unit 12 has an X table 20 that is guided by a pair of X guide rails 26, 26 on an X base 24 and is moved in the X-axis direction by a linear motor 28. A rotary table 30 that rotates in the θ direction around the Z axis is provided on this X table 20, and a work table 32 is provided on this rotary table 30.

[0025] The work table 32 is, for example, configured in a disk shape, and has a horizontally flat suction surface 34 on its upper surface, and a workpiece W (see FIG. 1) is fixed to this suction surface 34 by vacuum suction.

[0026] A Y base 36 is erected above the X base 24 so as to straddle the X base 24. A pair of Y tables 40, 40 that are guided by a pair of Y guide rails 38, 38 and are movable in the Y-axis direction are provided in front of the Y base 36. The Y tables 40, 40 are moved in the Y-axis direction by a linear motor (not shown) provided on the Y base 36.

[0027] The Y tables 40 are provided with Z tables 44 that are moved in the Z axis direction by linear motors (not shown). Spindle motors 46 with built-in high-frequency motors are fixed to the Z tables 44 in a manner facing each other in the Y axis direction, and disk-shaped blades 22 are fixed to the tips of spindles 48 of the spindle motors 46 in a manner facing each other in the Y axis direction. These spindle motors 46 are supported by the Y tables 40 via the Z tables 44, and the spindles 48 are arranged so that their axes are aligned with the Y axis direction, which is the direction of movement of the Y tables 40. The spindles 48 are made of a conductive metal, such as stainless steel.

[0028] As an example, blade 22 is an electrodeposited blade in which diamond abrasive grains or CBN (cubic boron nitride) abrasive grains are electrodeposited with nickel. In addition to electrodeposited blades, metal-resin-bonded blades in which metal powder is mixed into the resin and bonded together can also be used. Blade 22 is rotated at high speed, for example, 6,000 rpm to 80,000 rpm, by spindle 48.

[0029] With the processing unit 12 configured in this manner, the work table 32 is fed for cutting in the X-axis direction by the linear motor 28, and is rotated in the θ direction by the rotary table 30. The blades 22, 22 are index-fed in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis linear motor, and are cut-fed in the Z-axis direction by the Z-axis linear motor. By such operation of the processing unit 12, the workpiece W is cut into a grid pattern.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1 , the processing unit 12 is also provided with a wear amount detection device 200 that detects the amount of wear on the blade 22. The wear amount detection device 200, for example, has a light-emitting element disposed on one side of the blade 22 so as to sandwich the cutting edge of the blade 22, and a light-receiving element disposed on the other side, and detects the amount of wear on the blade 22 based on the amount of light received by the light-receiving element. This is a well-known configuration, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 4-13250 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2016-186958. Therefore, a detailed description of the configuration will be omitted here. When a periodic or unexpected problem occurs (e.g., when vibrations exceeding an allowable value occur in the blade 22), the processing of the workpiece W is interrupted and the blade 22 is moved toward the wear amount detection device 200, and the wear amount is detected by the wear amount detection device 200. If the amount of wear detected by the wear amount detection device 200 exceeds an allowable value, the blade 22 is replaced with a new blade 22 by an automatic blade replacement device 60 (see FIG. 4 ), which will be described later.

[0031] Next, an example of a mounting structure for mounting the blade 22 on the spindle 48 will be described.

[0032] Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a blade attachment structure for attaching the blade 22 to the spindle 48. Part 700A of Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the state before the blade 22 is attached to the spindle 48, and part 700B of Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the state after the blade 22 has been attached to the spindle 48.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 3 , a flange 50 is attached to the tip of the spindle 48. The flange 50 includes a disk-shaped main body 50A having a diameter smaller than that of the blade 22, a cylindrical insertion portion 50B that protrudes axially from the center of the main body 50A and has a male thread formed on its outer periphery, and an annular end surface 50C formed on the main body 50A and supports the blade 22. To secure the flange 50 to the spindle 48, a flange-securing bolt 52 is inserted into a through-hole (not shown) drilled axially in the insertion portion 50B, and the bolt 52 is threaded into a female thread (not shown) drilled axially from the tip surface of the spindle 48. This secures the flange 50 to the spindle 48. Like the spindle 48, the flange 50 is made of a conductive metal, such as stainless steel.

[0034] The blade 22 is composed of a cylindrical body portion 22A having a through hole (not shown) that is inserted into the insertion portion 50B of the flange 50, and a thin plate-like blade portion 22B that is integrally formed on the surface of the body portion 22A facing the spindle motor 46 and has a larger diameter than the main body portion 50A of the flange 50.

[0035] Both surfaces of the blade portion 22B are formed flat, and the surface of the both surfaces facing the spindle motor 46 is supported in contact with the end surface 50C of the flange 50.

[0036] To fix the blade 22 to the flange 50 fixed to the spindle 48, the through-hole of the blade 22 is inserted into the insertion portion 50B, the surface of the cutting portion 22B facing the spindle motor 46 is brought into contact with the end face 50C, and then a nut 54 is screwed onto the insertion portion 50B. As a result, the cutting portion 22B is clamped between the end face 50C and the nut 54. In this way, the blade 22 is fixed to the flange 50. An automatic blade changer 60 that can automatically change the blade 22 on the flange 50 will be described below.

[0037] Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the automatic blade exchange device 60, and Fig. 5 is a top view of the automatic blade exchange device 60. Note that the automatic blade exchange device 60 described in this example has a publicly known configuration, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-34408, and therefore, the structure of the main parts will be described here, and a description of the detailed structure will be omitted. This automatic blade exchange device 60 is an example of a blade attachment / detachment means.

[0038] 4 and 5, the automatic blade exchange device 60 includes a blade attachment / detachment section 62, blade temporary placement sections 64, 64, and a blade insertion / fitting section 66. The blade attachment / detachment section 62 and the blade insertion / fitting section 66 are each moved by a moving section 68 to a position facing the spindle 48.

[0039] The moving unit 68 includes a base 70, a disk-shaped table 72 rotatably supported on the base 70, and a motor 74 mounted on the base 70 to rotate the table 72. A timing belt 76 is stretched between the table 72 and a pulley (not shown) attached to a rotary shaft (not shown) of the motor 74, and the angle and timing of rotation of the table 72 by the motor 74 are controlled by a control unit 78. Here, the control unit 78 is an example of a control means. The control unit 78 in this example functions as a control means that controls the entire dicing apparatus 10, including the drive members of the automatic blade changer 60. The control unit 78 will be described later.

[0040] A linear guide rail (not shown) is arranged on the table 72 along the diameter direction of the table 72, and the blade attachment / detachment part 62 is slidably mounted on one end of this linear guide rail via a linear bearing (not shown).

[0041] The blade attachment / detachment unit 62 includes a mechanism for fastening a nut 54 (see FIG. 3) to fix the blade 22 to the flange 50 and loosening the nut 54 to detach the blade 22 from the flange 50. Note that the detailed structure of the blade attachment / detachment unit 62 is a publicly known configuration as disclosed in JP 2019-34408 A, and therefore will not be described here.

[0042] Two blade temporary resting units 64 are arranged on the base 70 near the table 72 with a gap between them. The blade temporary resting units 64 have a cylindrical shaft 65 that is horizontally disposed, and the through-hole of the blade 22 is inserted through the shaft 65. As a result, the blade 22 removed from the flange 50 by the blade attaching / detaching unit 62 is brought into opposition to the shaft 65 of the blade temporary resting unit 64 by the rotation of the table 72, and then the through-hole of the blade 22 is inserted into the shaft 65 by the advancement of the blade attaching / detaching unit 62 relative to the shaft 65. As a result, the blade 22 is temporarily placed on the blade temporary resting unit 64.

[0043] The blade insertion portion 66 is slidably provided on the other end side of the linear guide rail described above via a linear bearing (not shown).

[0044] The blade insertion portion 66 holds the blade 22 to be replaced and includes a mechanism for inserting the through-hole of the blade 22 into the blade insertion portion 52B of the flange 50 of the replacement spindle 48. Note that the detailed structure of the blade insertion portion 66 is a publicly known configuration as disclosed in JP 2019-34408 A, and therefore will not be described here.

[0045] Meanwhile, at predetermined positions on the table 72, a sensor 300 that detects the state of the end face 50C of the flange 50 and an end face conditioning device 400 having a grinding stone 402 are provided. As will be described in detail later, the control unit 78 controls the end face conditioning device 400 so as to condition the end face 50C with the grinding stone 402 based on the state of the end face 50C detected by the sensor 300. Here, the sensor 300 is an example of a detection means, and the end face conditioning device 400 is an example of an end face conditioning means.

[0046] Sensor 300 detects the state of end face 50C by detecting the angle between the axis of spindle 48 and end face 50C, and is configured, for example, by a displacement sensor 304 having a contact 302 that comes into contact with end face 50C. Displacement sensor 304 is held in a main body 306 of sensor 300, and this main body 306 is slid in the diameter direction of table 72 by an advance / retract mechanism 308 having a linear motor. The advance / retract mechanism 308 is driven and controlled by control unit 78.

[0047] To detect the angle using the sensor 300, as shown in FIG. 6, which is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the sensor 300 and the flange 50, the table 72 (see FIG. 4) is rotated to position the contact 302 of the sensor 300 facing the end face 50C of the flange 50. The sensor 300 then advances toward the end face 50C, bringing the contact 302 into contact with the end face 50C. This position is set as the measurement start reference position, and the flange 50 is then rotated by the spindle 48. As a result, if the angle is a right angle, the signal indicating the deflection amplitude output from the sensor 300 is constant. However, if the angle is not a right angle, the signal becomes a waveform signal with a 360-degree period. Here, FIG. 7 shows an example of waveform signal A output from the sensor 300, with the vertical axis representing the deflection amplitude and the horizontal axis representing the rotation angle of the flange 50. The signal is output to the control unit 78, which controls the end face correction device 400 based on the signal.

[0048] Specifically, when the amplitude B of waveform signal A exceeds a tolerance, control unit 78 controls end face repairing device 400 to grind end face 50C using grinding wheel 402 of end face repairing device 400 so that the above angle becomes a right angle. Furthermore, in addition to amplitude B, when signal C corresponding to a minute dent is superimposed on waveform signal A as shown in Figure 7, a tolerance may also be set for signal C, and end face repairing device 400 may be controlled to remove the dent using grinding wheel 402 when the tolerance is exceeded. Note that sensor 300 in the embodiment is a contact-type sensor having contact 302, but instead of this sensor, a non-contact type sensor such as a laser displacement sensor, eddy current sensor, or ultrasonic sensor may be used to detect the above angle.

[0049] Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the appearance of end face repairing device 400. Part 800A of Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which grinding wheel 402 of end face repairing device 400 has advanced to the grinding position of end face 50C (see Fig. 4), and part 800B of Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which grinding wheel 402 of end face repairing device 400 has retreated from end face 50C.

[0050] 8, the grindstone 402 of the end face finishing device 400 is held in a main body 404 of the end face finishing device 400, and this main body 404 is slid in the diameter direction of the table 72 by an advancing and retreating mechanism 406 having a linear motor. This advancing and retreating mechanism 406 is an example of a moving means, and moves the end face 50C of the flange 50 and the grindstone 402 in directions that bring them closer to each other and directions that move them away from each other. The advancing and retreating mechanism 406 is driven and controlled by the control unit 78.

[0051] The end face correcting device 400 also has a detection unit 408 (see FIG. 9) that detects that the grindstone 402 has come into contact with the end face 50C.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the detection unit 408.

[0053] 9, the detection unit 408 has a circuit section in which the flange 50, a comparator 410 as a current detection circuit, a power supply 412, and the grinding wheel 402 are connected in series, and this circuit section is configured to form a closed circuit when the grinding wheel 402 comes into contact with the end surface 50C of the flange 50. Here, the grinding wheel 402 is conductive, and for example, a grinding wheel in which abrasive grains are fixed with a metal bond or a conductive resin bond, or a grinding wheel with a superhard tip or a conductive coating is used.

[0054] According to the detection unit 408 configured in this manner, when the grinding wheel 402 comes into contact with the end face 50C, a detection signal is output from the comparator 410 to the control unit 78. This detection signal causes the control unit 78 to detect that the grinding wheel 402 has come into contact with the end face 50C, and stops the advancing and retracting movement of the main body 404 of the end face repair device 400. The control unit 78 then stores the contact position at this time in the memory unit as the end face repair start position in the movement direction of the main body 404 (i.e., the Y direction), and controls the amount of movement of the main body 404 by the advancing and retracting mechanism unit 406 based on the end face repair start position.

[0055] FIG. 10 shows a control block diagram relating to the end face correction control by the control unit 78.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 78 is composed of multiple circuits, such as various arithmetic processing circuits including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 80, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 82 for storing programs, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 84 for temporarily storing data, and the programs stored in the RAM 84 are executed by the CPU 80 to realize an end face correction operation for correcting the end face 50C of the flange 50.

[0057] Furthermore, the control unit 78 is connected to the drive units of the processing unit 12 including the spindle 48, the wear amount detection device 200, the automatic blade replacement device 60, the sensor 300, and the end face correction device 400.

[0058] ROM 82 also stores allowable wear amount data indicating an allowable value for the amount of wear detected by wear amount detection device 200 shown in FIG. 2, and allowable oscillation width data indicating an allowable value for oscillation width B of waveform signal A (see FIG. 7) detected by sensor 300 shown in FIG. 6. The allowable wear amount data is compared with the wear amount data detected by wear amount detection device 200, and if the wear amount data exceeds the allowable wear amount data, CPU 80 controls automatic blade replacement device 60 to perform an operation to replace blade 22. The allowable oscillation width data is also compared with the oscillation width data detected by sensor 300, and if the oscillation width data exceeds the allowable oscillation width data, CPU 80 controls end face correction device 400 to perform an end face correction operation for end face 50C of flange 50.

[0059] Next, an example of a workpiece processing method using the dicing device 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0060] FIG. 11 is a flowchart relating to the end face correction control by the control unit 78.

[0061] First, in the dicing device 10, a cutting process of the workpiece W with the blade 22 is performed (step 500), and after a predetermined time has elapsed or after a set number of workpieces W have been cut, a wear amount detection process of the blade 22 with the wear amount detection device 200 is performed (step 510). In the wear amount detection process, the blade 22 is moved from the processing position toward the wear amount detection device 200, and after being positioned at a predetermined position of the wear amount detection device 200, the wear amount is detected by the wear amount detection device 200.

[0062] In the wear amount detection process, the wear amount data representing the detected wear amount is compared with the allowable wear amount data stored in ROM 82 (step 520), and if the wear amount data does not exceed the allowable wear amount data (NO), it is determined that the blade 22 can be used continuously, and the processing unit 12 such as the spindle 48 is controlled to continue the cutting process of the workpiece W using the blade 22 (step 530).

[0063] On the other hand, if the wear amount data exceeds the allowable wear amount data (YES), it is determined that the blade 22 is to be replaced, and a blade removal process is executed to remove the blade 22 from the spindle 48 (step 540). That is, the table 72 of the automatic blade exchange device 60 is rotated to bring the blade attachment / detachment unit 62 facing the blade 22, and then the nut 54 is loosened by the blade attachment / detachment unit 62 to remove the blade 22 from the flange 50.

[0064] Next, an end face condition detection step is performed in which sensor 300 detects the condition of end face 50C of flange 50 (step 550). That is, table 72 is rotated to position contact 302 of sensor 300 opposite end face 50C of flange 50, and then sensor 300 is advanced toward end face 50C to bring contact 302 into contact with end face 50C. This position is set as the measurement start reference position, and then flange 50 is rotated by spindle 48.

[0065] In the end face condition detection process, the runout data B (see FIG. 7) representing the detected runout width is compared with the allowable runout width data stored in the ROM 82 (S560). If the runout data B does not exceed the allowable runout width data (NO), the state of the end face 50C is determined to be good, and a blade replacement process is executed in which a new blade 22 is attached to the spindle 48 without grinding the end face 50C (end face correction) (step 570). That is, the table 72 of the automatic blade changer 60 is rotated to bring the blade inserting portion 66 opposite the spindle 48, and the new blade 22 is attached to the spindle 48 by the blade inserting portion 66. Thereafter, the table 72 is rotated to bring the blade attaching / detaching portion 62 opposite the spindle 48, and the nut 54 is tightened by the blade attaching / detaching portion 62 to fix the new blade 22 to the flange 50. Thereafter, the processing unit 12 is controlled to execute a cutting process of the workpiece W using the blade 22.

[0066] On the other hand, if the runout width data B exceeds the allowable runout width data (YES), an end face grinding process is executed to grind (end face grind) the end face 50C of the flange 50 (S580). That is, the table 72 of the automatic blade changer 60 is rotated to bring the grindstone 402 of the end face grinding device 400 into contact with the end face 50C, and then the advancing / retracting mechanism 406 advances the main body 404 of the end face grinding device 400 toward the end face 50C. When a detection signal from the comparator 410 (see FIG. 9) detects that the grindstone 402 has contacted the end face 50C, the advancing / retracting movement of the grindstone 402 is stopped. The contact position at this time is stored in the RAM 84 (see FIG. 10) as the end face grinding start position in the movement direction (i.e., the Y direction) of the main body 404. Based on this end face grinding start position, the amount of movement of the main body 404 by the advancing / retracting mechanism 406 is controlled to grind the end face 50C. Specifically, based on the vibration amplitude detected by sensor 300, the amount of movement of main body 404 that makes the angle between the axis of spindle 48 and end face 50C a right angle is calculated, and main body 404 is moved at a predetermined speed by that amount, thereby completing the end face correction process.

[0067] Thereafter, to confirm whether the state of end face 50C has been reliably corrected, an end face condition redetection step is performed (step 590). This end face condition redetection step is performed in the same procedure as the end face condition detection step using sensor 300 described in step 550, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0068] In the end face condition redetection process, the redetected swing width data B is compared with the allowable swing width data stored in ROM 82 (S600), and if the swing width data B does not exceed the allowable swing width data (NO), it is determined that the condition of the end face 50C has been properly corrected, and a blade replacement process is executed to attach a new blade 22 to the spindle 48 (step 570).

[0069] On the other hand, if the re-detected runout data B exceeds the allowable runout data (YES), the end face correction process is not performed again, and it is determined that a defect due to another factor has occurred in the processing unit 12, and a processing stop process is performed to stop processing (step 610). The above is the flow of end face correction control by the control unit 78.

[0070] As described above, the dicing apparatus 10 of the embodiment includes a sensor 300 that detects the state of the end face 50C of the flange 50, an end face repairing apparatus 400 that grinds the end face 50C by contacting a grinding wheel 402 with the end face 50C, and a control unit 78 that controls the end face repairing apparatus 400 based on the detection results of the sensor 300, so that end face repair can be performed only when repair of the end face 50C is necessary.

[0071] Therefore, according to the dicing apparatus 10 of the embodiment, the end face 50C of the flange 50 is not corrected more than necessary, so that a decrease in throughput due to the correction of the end face 50C of the flange 50 can be suppressed.

[0072] Furthermore, according to the embodiment of the dicing apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 11, after the end face correction process (step 580), an end face condition redetection process (step 590) and a processing stop process (step 610) are performed, so that contact problems with the blade 22 caused by factors other than the state of the end face 50C can be detected, and in this case, processing is stopped, thereby preventing poor processing of the workpiece W.

[0073] The workpiece processing apparatus and workpiece processing method according to the present invention have been described in detail above, taking the dicing apparatus 10 as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the above example, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Modifications will be described below.

[0074] [First Modification] In the embodiment, the end face correction start position is obtained by electrically connecting the end face 50C of the flange 50 and the grinding wheel 402, but instead of this configuration, for example, a non-contact displacement sensor 422 (see FIG. 12) may be employed to obtain the end face correction start position.

[0075] Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a modified example of end face repairing device 420. Part 900A of Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing a state in which grinding stone 424 of end face repairing device 420 has advanced to the grinding position of end face 50C (see Fig. 3), and part 900B of Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing a state in which grinding stone 424 of end face repairing device 420 has retreated from end face 50C.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 12, the end face correcting device 420 has a main body 426 that holds a grindstone 424, and an advancing / retracting mechanism 428 that slides the main body 426 in the diameter direction of the table 72 (see FIG. 4).

[0077] The end face correcting device 420 also has a detection unit 430 that detects that the grindstone 424 has come into contact with the end face 50C (see FIG. 6) of the flange 50 due to the forward and backward movement of the main body 426 by the forward and backward movement mechanism 428. The detection unit 430 has a displacement sensor 422 and a measuring plate 432.

[0078] The displacement sensor 422 is a non-contact sensor such as a laser displacement sensor, an eddy current sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor, and is fixed to a mount 434 fixed to the table 72 (see FIG. 4) with the sensor surface 422A facing the measurement plate 432. The measurement plate 432 is fixed to the main body 426 and can slide together with the main body 426.

[0079] According to the end face correcting device 420 configured in this manner, the advancing / retracting mechanism 428 advances the main body 426 toward the end face 50C, and when the grinding wheel 402 comes into contact with the end face 50C, the resistance causes the movement of the main body 426 to stop. At this time, the distance D between the sensor surface 422A and the measuring plate 432 detected by the displacement sensor 422 can be acquired as the end face correction start position.

[0080] The end face repairing means in the present invention may be any means for grinding the end face by bringing a grinding stone into contact with the end face of the flange, and is not limited to the end face repairing devices 400, 420 described in the embodiment. For example, an end face repairing means may be employed in which a grinding stone is manually brought into contact with the end face of the flange to grind the end face.

[0081] [Second Modification] In the embodiment, the angle between the axis of the spindle 48 and the end face 50C is exemplified as the state of the end face 50C, but the state of a flaw that has occurred on the end face 50C may be detected as the state of the end face 50C, and if the detected state of the flaw (for example, the depth of the flaw) exceeds an allowable value, the end face 50C may be corrected by grinding with a grinding wheel 402.

[0082] In this case, the detection means for detecting the state of the end face 50C may be, for example, a non-contact AE sensor that can detect the occurrence of scratches on the end face 50C by monitoring AE (Acoustic Emission) waves, or a laser displacement sensor that can detect the depth of scratches, or these sensors may be used in combination. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 10...Dicing device, 12...Processing section, 14...Cleaning section, 16...Load port, 18...Transportation device, 20...X table, 22...Blade, 24...X base, 26...X guide rail, 28...Linear motor, 30...Rotary table, 32...Work table, 34...Suction surface, 36...Y base, 38...Y guide rail, 40...Y table, 44...Z table, 46...Spindle motor, 48...Spindle, 50...Flange, 50C...End face, 52...Bolt, 54...Nut, 60...Automatic blade changer, 62...Blade attachment / detachment section, 64...Temporary blade placement section, 65...Axis, 66...Blade insertion / insertion section unit, 68...moving unit, 70...base, 72...table, 74...motor, 76...timing belt, 78...control unit, 80...CPU, 82...ROM, 84...RAM, 200...wear detection device, 300...sensor, 302...contact, 304...displacement sensor, 306...main body, 308...advance / retreat mechanism unit, 400...end surface correction device, 402...grinding stone, 404...main body, 406...advance / retreat mechanism unit, 408...detection unit, 410...comparator, 412...power supply, 420...end surface correction device, 422...displacement sensor, 424...grinding stone, 426...main body, 428...advance / retreat mechanism unit, 430...detection unit, 432...measuring plate, 434...mounting unit

Claims

1. A workpiece processing device that supports a blade on an end face of a flange provided at the tip of a spindle, rotates the blade by the spindle, and brings the blade into contact with a workpiece to cut the workpiece, an automatic blade changing device including: a detecting means for detecting the state of the end surface of the flange; an end surface correcting means for grinding the end surface of the flange by bringing a grinding stone into contact with the end surface; and a blade attaching / detaching means for attaching / detaching the blade to / from the spindle; a control means for controlling the automatic blade changing device, the control means executes grinding of the end face by the end face correction means based on swing width data indicating the state of the end face detected by the detection means. Workpiece processing equipment.

2. When the runout width data does not exceed the allowable value, the control means attaches a new blade to the spindle without grinding the end face using the blade attaching / detaching means, and when the runout width data exceeds the allowable value, the control means grinds the end face using the end face correction means. The workpiece machining device according to claim 1 .

3. After grinding of the end face is performed by the end face correction means, the control means redetects the state of the end face using the detection means, and if the redetected runout width data does not exceed the allowable value, the control means attaches a new blade to the spindle using the blade attaching / detaching means, and if the redetected runout width data exceeds the allowable value, stops cutting processing using the blade. The workpiece machining device according to claim 2 .

4. A workpiece processing device that supports a blade on an end surface of a flange provided at the tip of a spindle and cuts a workpiece by rotating the blade using the spindle and bringing it into contact with the workpiece, the workpiece processing method being applied to the workpiece processing device, the workpiece processing method comprising: an automatic blade changer having a detection means for detecting the state of the end surface of the flange; an end surface correction means for bringing a grinding stone into contact with the end surface of the flange to grind the end surface; and a blade attachment / detachment means for attaching and detaching the blade to and from the spindle; and a control means for controlling the automatic blade changer, grinding the end face by the end face correcting means based on swing width data indicating the state of the end face detected by the detecting means; Workpiece processing method.

5. If the runout data does not exceed the allowable value, the blade attaching / detaching means attaches a new blade to the spindle without grinding the end surface, When the runout data exceeds the allowable value, the end surface is ground by the end surface correction means. The workpiece machining method according to claim 4.

6. After the end surface has been ground by the end surface correction means, the state of the end surface is detected again by the detection means; If the re-detected runout data does not exceed the allowable value, a new blade is attached to the spindle by the blade attaching / detaching means; If the re-detected swing width data exceeds the allowable value, the cutting process by the blade is stopped. The workpiece machining method according to claim 5.

Images